This feeling was truly both unbearable and incredibly blissful.
During the reverse flow of time, the reappearance of deceased loved ones before one's eyes was, without a doubt, the most moving experience imaginable.
Before playing the game, Furukawa Hirozawa had already prepared himself for suffering.
After all, this was a Pokeni galgame, known for its female protagonist deaths and tear-jerking plots since onmyoji; it was truly difficult for them to change.
Although Pokeni explicitly stated this time that they would not kill the male protagonist or female protagonist, it was only now that Furukawa Hirozawa understood—
Killing people was actually the most primitive way to evoke emotion; what truly moved hearts was genuine feeling.
Just like now, not only were there no deaths, but the father and mother were successively resurrected, becoming an indispensable part of the protagonist's life, making his entire life and family complete.
And this moment was so touching.
Only by knowing the pain of loss can one understand the joy and happiness of regaining what was lost.
Damn it!
Damn it!
How did I get captured by Pokeni again?!
Furukawa Hirozawa felt exceptionally uncomfortable; playing Pokeni's game required such a strong heart!
[The next day, sunlight shone on my face, and feeling the warmth, I felt incomparably warm.
But—]
[Time jumped, but it didn't go back to yesterday.
Instead, it became tomorrow.]
[May 6, 1974, this was the day my mother died.]
[After seeing my mother yesterday, she still left this world with a smile today.]
[However, everything changed.]
[Father did not repeat the mistakes of last time; even after Mother's passing, he remained a gentle and pleasant man.]
[Everything was developing in a new direction; previously, it was a regression against the river of time, but this time, time began to turn again, moving towards the future.]
[But…
I was terrified to the extreme.]
[An invisible hand gripped my heart.]
[If my time recovered, then what about Tanikawa Aitsuki? Is she still the girl I knew?]
[Or is it—
Time left her in the past. Am I the only one moving forward?]
[I don't know, I'm scared to death.]
…
Nani?!
Furukawa Hirozawa's pupils suddenly dilated as he read the text on the screen in disbelief.
After confirming the time several times, he realized that, as the text described, time was no longer flowing backward.
Instead, it continued to move forward.
But this fact made Furukawa Hirozawa's mood tense to the extreme.
…
The male protagonist ran, and Furukawa Hirozawa controlled him to go to the beach where they met every day.
But.
No.
Tanikawa Aitsuki did not appear at the agreed location.
Furukawa Hirozawa felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.
Something must have gone wrong here.
However, he especially, especially did not want it to develop in the direction he was thinking.
The next day, she still didn't come.
The male protagonist's time, from the day he met his mother, had already begun to move forward.
And Tanikawa Aitsuki, this person, seemed to have disappeared from the world.
Just then, Furukawa Hirozawa suddenly remembered what the female protagonist said when they first met—
[The mermaids tears will grant a person one wish, but it will bring a deeply unforgettable love.]
At the time, he didn't take it seriously, but it was only now that Furukawa Hirozawa understood this point—
The male protagonist's wish must have been to see his mother.
It was because of this wish that his time flowed backward, making him one of the only two reverse degree persons in this world.
And when he truly returned to the day his mother was about to leave this world, when he saw the mother he had longed for, his wish was fulfilled, and so time began to flow again.
But—what about the female protagonist?
What was her wish?
What kind of wish made her go back to the past, making time flow backward?
If her wish was to return to before her birth, would there no longer be a Tanikawa Aitsuki in the future?
As soon as he thought of this, Furukawa Hirozawa's heart was filled with endless fear.
…
She didn't appear again.
Tanikawa Aitsuki did not appear on the agreed beach.
So Furukawa Hirozawa decided not to sit idly by; he would search the entire city to see if he could find her.
What if…
What if the female protagonist also returned to the present?
When the male protagonist knocked on Tanikawa Aitsuki's door, the entire plot was once again pushed forward.
"Hmm? Who are you looking for? Little friend, is something wrong?" Tanikawa Aitsuki's mother opened the door and asked kindly when she saw the male protagonist outside.
"I… I'm looking for Tanikawa Aitsuki, is she home?" The male protagonist mustered his courage and asked.
Just then, a little girl came forward and peeked out from behind her mother through the crack in the door, a delicate and cute little face.
"What's wrong? Are you looking for me?" The female protagonist asked timidly.
Looking at Yamasita Sei's eyes, they were utterly unfamiliar.
"No…" Yamasita Sei opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything.
[Because I knew, I was no longer in the same river.]
[That Tanikawa Aitsuki, who preserved our shared memories, was permanently left in the past by time.]
"Do you want to go to the beach and play volleyball with me?"
I said to this Tanikawa Aitsuki in front of me.
The other party revealed a brilliant smile.
Exactly like the one in my dream.
"I want to go."
In the picture, a 9-year-old boy held the hand of a little girl less than 4 years old, walking towards the distant beach.
At this time, the sun was just right, and the sea surface shimmered beautifully.
…
The BGM started, and everything was over.
Subtitles began to appear on the screen.
At the same time, fragments from time, like old photographs, played on the screen along with the subtitles.
[Producer: Furuhara Tsubaki-sensei]
[Script: Gen Urobuchi]
[Music: Tenmon]
[Original Art: Furuhara Tsubaki]
[Character Design: Gen Urobuchi]
…
[THE END
THANK YOU]
Huh?
When all the subtitles had played, Furukawa Hirozawa finally came back to his senses.
It's over.
"reverse degree person"
But…
Furukawa Hirozawa touched his cheek, not knowing when it had become covered in tears.
He was completely unaware, as if his soul had been drained.
"Hehe, hehe…"
Furukawa Hirozawa chuckled twice.
Indeed, there was no more killing, but the more Furukawa pondered, the more he felt something was wrong.
In this case, it would have been better to have deaths!
west!
Old Thief Furuhara!
west!
Gen Urobuchi!
west west west west west…!
…
Lying in bed at night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Overall, "reverse degree person" as a galgame wasn't very long; from buying it in the afternoon to playing it now, it was only about 8 hours.
However, the psychological trauma and destructive power it caused were unparalleled.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the game's plot would automatically play through his mind from beginning to end.
Then he would feel an emptiness in his heart, as if it had been drained.
This was very strange.
Clearly, the male protagonist and female protagonist had no intersection before the time reversal; they lived their own lives, like two parallel lines.
Logically, even if time were to be corrected again, even with a time difference, everyone could still live their own lives.
Even in this world, the male protagonist could still pursue the girl he liked.
The ending also seemed to hint at this—
Yamasita Sei invited the current Tanikawa Aitsuki to play on the beach together, childhood sweethearts, innocent and pure.
In the future, they would most likely end up together.
However, for some reason, he always felt a strange discomfort in his heart.
…
On Monday, Furukawa Hirozawa went to the company early and chatted with Kinoshita and Hayamikawa midway.
They all sighed with emotion.
"Damn it, "reverse degree person" ah, although there were no deaths, I think it would have been better to have deaths," Kinoshita lamented.
"Yes," the other two nodded in agreement.
Now, just thinking back to the plot at the time, they felt heartbroken.
"So, is this a HE or a BE?" Hayamikawa asked confusedly.
If it was a BE, then the male protagonist did end up with the female protagonist, but this female protagonist had no memory related to them.
But if it was a HE, then why did everyone still feel so uncomfortable?
"It's definitely a BE! Does that even need to be said?" Furukawa Hirozawa appeared extremely agitated; this was probably the most heart-wrenching galgame he had ever played.
And precisely because Pokeni set a bad precedent, many tear-jerking galgames have appeared on the market now.
However… honestly, when it comes to tormenting people and making them cry, Furukawa Hirozawa hasn't found any company's game that can rival Pokeni, at least not yet.
Mainly, the collaboration between Old Thief Furuhara and Gen Urobuchi is truly invincible.
All sorts of strange and bizarre ideas emerge, making you shed tears in various ways.
"As long as the male protagonist and female protagonist aren't the original pair together, then it's definitely a sure-fire Bad End."
"But aren't the male protagonist and female protagonist together?" Hayamikawa's voice grew softer and softer after sensing the explosive gazes from the other two, and she weakly said, "At least the male protagonist is with another female protagonist, right? Even if they're not on the same timeline, they're still the male protagonist and female protagonist, aren't they?"
"Bah, how can they be called the male protagonist and female protagonist if they're not on the same timeline?" Furukawa Hirozawa said indignantly, "This female protagonist has lost her past memories; she's no longer the Tanikawa Aitsuki that Yamasita Sei loved.
Let me put it this way: if I broke your favorite toy and then bought you an identical one, would you accept it?"
"Absolutely not!"
At this point, Hayamikawa also became a staunch supporter of the Bad End.
...
"Damn it, Old Thief Furuhara seems to be going further and further down the path of tear-jerking."
"Isn't that the truth? Now Gen Urobuchi is also very skilled at writing tragic stories, to the point where he can make people cry without even needing to use a 'knife.' You don't know whether to praise him or give him a good beating."
"Mhm, I feel the same way. If this continues, you won't know what kind of insane things these guys will do in the future.
Initially, I thought "Mermaid Heart" was the pinnacle of torment, but after playing "reverse degree person," I realized—
Gen Urobuchi, this Author, has no end to his talent in creating heart-wrenching scripts."
What a terrifying talent this is.
Terrifying as such.
As soon as the few of them thought of this, they couldn't help but gasp.
"By the way, has anyone played the female protagonist route?" Kinoshita, who had been silent, slowly asked.
Furukawa Hirozawa and Hayamikawa exchanged glances, and a look of confusion appeared in both their eyes simultaneously.
"Does playing the female protagonist route matter? The storyline should be pretty much the same, right?" Hayamikawa asked.
"Then you definitely don't know why the female protagonist became a reverse degree person, do you?" Kinoshita's lips curled slightly upward, revealing a meaningful smile.
It was as if he was saying, I am the only omniscient one among the three of us.
You guys, you don't even have the courage to play the female protagonist route; you're not worthy of discussing "reverse degree person" with me.
Damn it!
The two of them frowned heavily.
Kinoshita had outsmarted them!
"Why should I know?" Furukawa Hirozawa stubbornly retorted.
The main reason he didn't play the female protagonist route was that he couldn't empathize with female characters, and there was also a very important point—
Furukawa Hirozawa didn't want to be tormented a second time.
After playing the male protagonist route, his entire soul was drained. Wanting to play the female protagonist route again? Is he sick?
Are we masochists?
"Are you two really not curious at all?" Kinoshita raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm... no."
The two of them were silent for a moment, then simultaneously asked:
"So what was the female protagonist's wish?"
...
"As expected of Pokeni, to be able to make a galgame to this extent."
Within Torun Group, secretary Fujiki secretly wiped away tears.
"Just thinking about the female protagonist and the male protagonist being separated and isolated in different timelines makes my heart incredibly complex."
"Huh?" Hattori Hiroyuki looked at her with some surprise.
But despite his surprise, he still proactively handed her a handkerchief.
"Thank you, President." Fujiki took the handkerchief, saying with trepidation.
"I was also curious, after all, Pokeni is a company that you, President, particularly value. I hadn't really experienced their previous games before, mainly because I thought galgames weren't suitable for girls.
But this time, I heard that girls could also play this game, so I decided to give it a try."
As Fujiki spoke, her nose felt a little sore.
"reverse degree person" is truly an excellent work. After experiencing the female protagonist route, recalling it now still makes my heart ache.
Hattori Hiroyuki looked at her with a bewildered expression.
Is it really that good?
"President, haven't you played this game?" Noticing Hattori Hiroyuki's slightly stiff gaze, Fujiki asked curiously.
"Of course, I played it." Hattori Hiroyuki said stubbornly.
"Mhm, actually, it's quite moving."
He frowned, thinking, is Pokeni crazy? Why make a galgame so sad?
However, it's truly strange that such a game could achieve super high sales.
What kind of people are the players in our country?
...
As soon as "reverse degree person" was released, it immediately received countless positive reviews from players.
"Gen Urobuchi's imagination is truly extraordinary. I definitely couldn't come up with a concept like time reversal."
Currently, in 1992, there are many novels about time paradoxes in the world, but there are almost no actual film and television works or game works.
The famous "Groundhog Day" wouldn't be released until 1993.
But even in such an environment, Gen Urobuchi was able to think outside the box, write about time reversal, and use it as an opportunity to create a deeply memorable love story. It's truly remarkable.
"Time reversal, mermaids tears. I feel like Pokeni is playing a very big game, as if they've connected it to their previous "Mermaid Heart." I wonder if it's just my imagination."
"Indeed, the common human emotion is loneliness. No matter when or where you are, loneliness is eternal.
I think reverse degree person probably illustrates this point.
In the long river of time, how rare it is to meet a soulmate!"
"I actually have a high tear-point, but while playing the game "reverse degree person," I cried three times. The first time was when the father was in a car accident, and the male protagonist bravely saved him.
The second time was when Mother returned; Mother at that moment was truly an angel.
The third time...
Just thinking about the third time makes me feel incredibly sorrowful.
Gen Urobuchi, this devil, had to let the male protagonist fulfill his wish and return first, didn't he?
Then wasn't the tragedy destined from the very beginning?
In such a Dislocated time and space (misplaced time and space), it would have been better not to meet at all."
"Ah, damn Pokeni! Although I really hate and want to strangle Old Thief Furuhara, I have to admit that "reverse degree person" is truly an excellent game."
"Yes, Old Thief Furuhara deserves to die ten thousand times, and so does Gen Urobuchi's script planning.
Every time I play a Pokeni game, I don't know why, but I always want to send some local specialties to Furuhara Tsubaki."
"Me too, I really want to thank Furuhara Tsubaki-sensei and Gen Urobuchi-sensei for bringing us such excellent works. After playing, my heart feels healed, my soul has been sublimated, and tears flow uncontrollably. Perhaps this is what it means to become purer as a whole person?
Having enjoyed such a game, it's hard not to thank Furuhara Tsubaki and Gen Urobuchi properly."
The players are truly good-looking people who speak nicely.
One "little darling" after another, moving Aoki Haruhi to tears.
After reading the player survey, Aoki Haruhi frowned deeply.
Although everyone ultimately gave very high scores and reviews,
He always had a feeling that if Gen Urobuchi was allowed to continue like this, he and Urobuchi Gen would both be finished.
Not finished in terms of sales performance, but finished in a physical sense.
"President, where should I put this box of razor blades?"
"Uh..." Aoki Haruhi said uncomfortably, "Put them in the storage room first, then figure out a way to sell them later."
"Ah, these players' methods of sending razor blades are really amateur. No, I shouldn't say amateur; I can only say they are too good to Furuhara Tsubaki, especially thoughtful."
HR-Chan said cheerfully, carrying the razor blades, "Shouldn't the correct way be to stick the razor blades at the opening of the letters and send them one by one?
That way, when you open the letter, you'll get cut, which will increase the deterrent power."
Hearing her words, Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but shiver.
"Hey, please don't say such scary things, okay?!"
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